This is the blog for CARG, the Coronary Artery Rehabilitation Group, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It will contain items of interest to CARG's own members and anybody else interested in the latest news about rehabilitation and heart-related matters. Canadian charitable number: 89675 0163 RR 0001 || e-mail: carg.ca@gmail.com || website: carg.ca || Blog disclaimer

Thursday, November 3, 2011

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first artificial heart valve that can replace an aortic heart valve damaged by senile aortic valve stenosis without open-heart surgery. Senile aortic valve stenosis is a progressive, age-related disease caused by calcium deposits on the aortic valve that cause the valve to narrow. As the heart works harder to pump enough blood through the smaller valve opening, the heart eventually weakens, which can lead to problems such as fainting, chest pain, heart failure, irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), or cardiac arrest